A six-episode documentary series—My Guangdong Story—will be aired on Guangdong Radio and Television World (GRT World) channel at 13:00 this Saturday (July 29).
Each episode is about 10 minutes long and shows the lives of six expats in Guangdong, including business people, a vlogger, a teacher, a Kongfu lover, and an artist.
The GRT World mainly broadcasts news information and documentaries, covering countries and regions such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Southeast Asian countries, European and American countries. The audience in these places therefore can search the channel to watch My Guangdong Story documentary series.
In 2022, GDToday and Japanese documentary filmmaker Takeuchi Ryo jointly produced My Guangdong Story micro-documentary, recording the real stories of expats with different occupations living in the cities of Guangdong province.
"I believe filming such a documentary about these expats would be very interesting," Takeuchi shared his motivation, which coincides with GDToday's. He has been a frequent guest in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area over the past years. Apart from Guangzhou, he finds that other cities in Guangdong province are also attractive.
In the first episode, Jesper Lundqvist from Copenhagen, Denmark, tells the story of his trip to Guangdong to find real Kung Fu. He asks the audience what comes to mind when you think of Chinese Kung Fu. Some foreign friends may first think of classic action movies featuring Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Scenes of sword-swallowing performances are enthusiastically described. Some think of Kung Fu as a meditative practice, rather than a fighting technique.
"In order to beat the stereotypes and pursue real Kung Fu, I gave up a comfortable life in Denmark to come to Foshan," said Lundqvist. He wants to create a bridge and paint a more authentic picture for millions of other Kung Fu enthusiasts worldwide.
In another episode, Ahmed Tamim, a Tanzanian man who has operated an international shipping business for 13 years in Guangzhou, shares how he went from penniless to rich in Guangzhou. "When I first came to Guangzhou, my pockets were empty. All my money was earned in China," Tamim recalls. Today, he serves as the shipping company's general manager and is the elected chairman of the Tanzanian Chamber of Commerce in Guangzhou.
When talking about his father, who passed away years ago, tears sprung up in Tamim’s eyes. In this episode, there is not only the realization of a wealthy dream, but also love and responsibility among family members.
There are many other wonderful stories waiting for you. If you’re in need of some inspiration—or maybe just one hour with very interesting characters—check out My Guangdong Story documentaries tomorrow!
If you are worried about missing the live broadcast, please scan the QR code below or click HERE to watch the documentary now.
Author: Ariel
Editor: Olivia, Nan, Monica, Jerry
